Pipe spraying device



Nov. 4, 1969 J. c. GRANT 3,475,781

PIPE SPRAYING DEVICE Filed Jan. 3, 196 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f 1 1-42 L i L l 1 /0 Jay/v a 664/1/7 INVENTOR.

A ffdZ/VEV J. c. GRANT 3,475,731

PIPE SPRAYING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jaw/c 624/1/7 INVENTOR.

AffdZ/Vf/ Nov. 4, 1969 Filed Jan.

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United States Patent 3,475,781 PIPE SPRAYING DEVICE John C. Grant, Huntington Park, Calif., assiguor to Byron Jackson, Inc., Long Beach, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 606,973 Int. Cl. E21b 33/03, 41/00 U.S. Cl. 15--210 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for spraying the surface of a pipe as the latter is drawn therethrough for the purpose of washing or applying protective coatings such as rust inhibitor to it, particularly oil well pipe as it is drawn from a well, the device including a retaining plate for supporting and positioning a pipe wiper for preliminarily cleaning the pipe prior to spraying, the plate being retracti'ble by a lateral sliding movement to allow passage of the wiper.

This invention relates to apparatus for spraying pipe and other elongated objects, particularly to apparatus for spraying pipe as it is being run into or out of a well, and more specifically as described herein, to apparatus used in spraying drill pipe during rotary drilling operations.

In rotary drilling of oil and gas wells it is common practice to use drilling muds, which serve as weight materials to preclude blowouts from formation pressures, to lubricate and cool the rotary drilling bit, and to carry out cuttings. These muds, which are pumped down through the drill pipe and then up the annular space between the drill pipe and the drilled hole, sometimes carry back up intruding formation fluids, which, with the mud, have a severe corroding effect on the pipe. If allowed to remain on the pipe, pitting and deterioration will result, so it is important that the pipe be thoroughly cleaned when it is removed from the well on each trip, and that rust inhibitor be applied when corrosive conditions prevail.

The problem of corroded pipe has become more prevalent in recent years, with deeper and hotter hole conditions, and with more chemical additives in the mud, which together with intruding formation materials, produce deleterious results. One effort at remedying the situation has been to add anti-corrosion agents to the drilling mud, but in order not to contaminate and alter the properties of the mud and at the same time make the procedure economical, the amount of additive is necessarily quite limited, so the results have not been very satisfactory. The anti-corrosion agent has also been swabbed or painted on by hand, another expensive and time-consuming procedure. More recently, however, devices have been developed for spraying the rust inhibitor or anti-corrosion material directly onto the pipe as it is being withdrawn from the Well and after the excess drilling mud has been wiped off with a conventional wiper. See United States Patents Nos. 3,306,310 issued Feb. 28, 1967 to John C. Grant; 3,334,639 issued Aug. 8, 1967 to John C. Grant; and 3,378,088 issued Apr. 16, 1968 to John C. Grant et al.

The present invention is an improvement over these, resulting in more effective spraying, with a simpler, more economical, compact apparatus. compactness is frequently quite important due to the restricted space available for the apparatus on some drilling rigs. There is an increasing amount of drilling under pressure, and with air or gas in place of liquid drilling muds. Equipment for this type of drilling is located at the well head and reduces the space available below the floor of a drilling rig. It also requires the use of blowout preventer or packer rubbers to seal off at the surface of the well around the pipe as it is being raised, lowered, and rotated, resulting in excessive heat and Wear if the rubber packing elements are dry.

Patented Nov. 4, 1969 This invention provides a spray which also serves the purpose of wetting the pipe to provide lubrication and cooling of the packer rubbers, thus greatly reducing friction and prolonging the life of the rubber elements.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide an apparatus for spraying drill pipe which is compact, and easily and economically installed in the limited space between the rotary table and well-head equipment of a rotary drilling rig.

Another object of the invention is to provide a compact pipe spraying apparatus which is effective in applying rust inhibitor to pipe as it is being run into or out of a well.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a compact pipe spraying apparatus which is effective in Washing drill pipe as it is being run into or out of a well.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a device for spraying pipe which may be installed under the derrick floor in space not otherwise being used, and the moving parts of which do not interfere with other rig equipment.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus useful in the spraying of pipe, including a sliding plate, the latter being slidable to an interposition to restrict the passage of objects larger than the pipe to be passed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a compact sliding plate apparatus, useful in the spraying of drill pipe, the sliding plate of which may be infraposed below the spray area to restrict the passage of a pipe wiper as the pipe is being withdrawn from a well.

These objects and other advantages of the invention will be realized as the device is further described in detail below. Briefly, the invention includes a device for spraying pipe being run into and out of a well and adapted for attachment to a well drilling rig having a rotary table and a support for the rotary table. The device includes a frame having an opening through it larger than the diameter of the pipe, and spray means carried by the frame, the spray means also having an opening through it larger than the pipe diameter, the openings being aligned so that the pipe may be moved through them; a substantially flat plate having a U-shaped lateral opening larger than the diameter of the pipe on its side adjacent to the pipe, slidably mounted on the frame below the spray means for reciproeating movement in a plane substantially normal to the direction of alignment of the frame and spray means openings from a juxtaposition way from the pipe to an infraposition partially surrounding the pipe, and a pipe wiper mounted on the pipe below the plate restrained thereby from upward movement through the openings; and means for reciprocating the plate from its juxtaposition to its infraposition and vice versa.

Further objects, advantages and uses will appear as the preferred embodiments of the invention are described and set forth in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a pipe spraying device, showing it installed in placed on the I-beams below the rotary table and derrick floor, the latter parts being shown in phantom, and also showing a pipe and pipe wiper;

FIG. 2 is a top view, on an enlarged scale, of the pipe spraying device of FIG. 1, with portions cut away to show the slide member and spray nozzles;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, on the same scale, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view, taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2, on the same scale, and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view, similar to FIG. 4, on the same scale, and with the slide member in its retracted position.

Referring to FIG. 1, a rotary table 12, used for rotating a drill pipe 16 when drilling a well, is shown supported 'by the derrick floor 10 and a pair of I-beams 14. As seen also in FIG. 2, to the bottom of the pair of I-beams 14 is clamped a pipe sprayer assembly 20, interposed and aligned between the rotary table 12 and the well (not shown). The frame subassembly 22 of the sprayer assembly 20 has two parallel side rails 24 which are clamped by means of the four clamps 28 to the I-beams 14, and the rails 24 are connected, preferably by welding, near their ends by the spacer or supporting bars 26 and 27. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, to the side rails 24 is secured, by welding, an annular spray manifold subassembly 30, which includes a circular spray manifold 31, with its circumferentially spaced spray nozzles 32 directed toward the pipe 16, and a spray fluid inlet 36 connected by a valve (not shown) to a source of spray fluid under pressure. The shield 34 is shaped so as to funnel any excess sprayed liquid downward, to protect the spray nozzles 32 from damage as the pipe 16 moves through it, and to act as a wind guard to assure full circumferential spraying of the pipe 16 from the nozzle jets 32. The spray manifold subassembly 30 is located with the central opening 35 in alignment with the rotary table 12 and the well for passage of the pipe 16 therethrough, and the central opening 35 is large enough for a pipe wiper 18 to pass through.

As shown also in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5, to the inside parallel surfaces of the side rails 24 are secured a pair of slide plate rails 44, along which may travel a slide plate 40, supported by its slide plate guides 46. The U-shaped slide plate 40 is positioned so that its opening 42 encompasses on three sides the pipe 16 in interposition below the spray manifold subassembly 30 and above the wiper 18, thus restricting the upward movement of the latter, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. By moving the slide plate 40 to its position as in FIG. away from the pipe 16, the central opening 35 through the spray manifold subassembly 30 is no longer obstructed. As seen in FIG. 2, the slide plate 40 has drain holes 41 and the wiper 18 has drain holes or windows 19, allowing excess sprayed liquid to flow downward. At the closed end of the U-shape slide plate 40, it is connected by means of a swivel joint 48 to a piston rod 56 of a power cylinder 50, which in turn is pivotally connected by means of a swing joint 58 to the middle of the spacer bar 27. Entry of power fluid into the cylinder 50 through its rear inlet 54 extends the piston rod 56 and slide plate 40 to the position as shown in FIG. 4. Entry of power fluid into the cylinder 50 through its front inlet 52 retracts the piston rod 56 and slide plate 40 to the position as shown in FIG. 5.

In a typical operation of the apparatus of this invention, the pipe sprayer assembly 20 is installed as shown and previousy set forth herein, a source of spray fluid under pressure with valve control means is connected to the fluid inlet 36 of the spray manifold subassembly 30, and valves (not shown) connected to the cylinder fluid inlets 52 and 54 from a source of hydraulic or pneumatic operating fluid under pressure. With the slide plate 40 in its open position as in FIG. 5, the pipe wiper 18 is installed on the pipe 16 and lowered through the central opening of the rotary table 12 and the central opening 35 of the spray manifold subassembly 30 to a position below the slide plate 40. By then allowing power fluid to enter the cylinder 50 through the inlet 54, the piston rod 56 is extended, moving the slide plate 40 along the rails 44 to a position substantially encompassing the pipe 16 and interposed between the spray manifold subassembly 30 and the pipe wiper 18, thus restricting the passage and restraining the wiper 18 from upward movement as the pipe 16 is withdrawn from the well. The wiper 18 thus cleans the pipe 16, presenting a mud-free surface to be sprayed either with wash water or rust-inhibitor fluid by the circumferentially spaced nozzle jets 32 spaced about the pipe, as the spray fluid is allowed to enter the spray manifold subassembly 30 through its inlet 36. Excess liquid is allowed to flow downward through the openings 41 and 42 in the slide plate 40 and openings or windows 19 of the pipe wiper 18; and then back into the well or to lubricate surface packer rubbers when they are used.

In order to retrieve the wiper 18 or to allow passage of other large objects, such as the drilling bit, the slide plate 40 is moved from its interposition as shown in FIG. 4 to its juxtaposition as shown in FIG. 5 by allowing fluid to enter the power cylinder 50 through the fluid inlet 52, thus retracting the piston rod 56 and slide plate 40 to which it is pivotally connected, the slide plate returning along the slide rails 44, leaving an unobstructed passage through the opening 35 of the pipe sprayer.

While one form of sprayer is shown by way of illustration, other modifications will be evident to those skilled in the art. For example, the sliding of the slide plate could be done manually rather than by motor means, and the control of the operations could be located for remote control at a position convenient for an operator on the derrick floor.

I claim:

1. A device for spraying pipe being run into and out of a well and adapted for attachment to a well drilling rig having a rotary table and a support for the rotary table, the device comprising in combination:

(a) a frame having an opening therethrough larger than the diameter of the pipe;

(b) spray means carried by said frame;

(c) said spray means having an opening therethrough larger than the diameter of the pipe, and said openings in said frame and said spray means being in alignment so that the pipe may be moved therethrough;

(d) a single, substantially flat plate having a U-shaped lateral opening larger than the diameter of the pipe on its side adjacent to the pipe and slidably mounted on said frame below said spray means for reciprocating movement in a plane substantially normal to the direction of alignment of said openings in said frame and said spray means from a juxtaposition away from said pipe to an infraposition partially surrounding said pipe, whereat the edges of the said plate defining said U-shaped opening are laterally spaced from the pipe; and a pipe wiper mounted on the pipe below said plate restrained thereby from upward movement through said openings; and

(e) means for reciprocating said plate from said juxtaposition to said infraposition and vice versa.

2. A device for spraying pipe as defined in claim 1 wherein said lateral opening extends into said plate a distance greater than the diameter of the pipe, whereby when said plate is in said infraposition the pipe is within said U-shaped lateral opening and substantially is encompassed by said plate.

3. A device for spraying pipe as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for reciprocating said plate comprises motor means.

4. A device for spraying pipe being run into and out of a well and adapted for attachment to a well drilling rig having a rotary table and a support for the rotary table, the device comprising in combination:

(a) a frame having an opening therethrough larger than the diameter of the pipe;

(b) spray means carried by said frame;

(c) said spray means having an opening therethrough larger than the diameter of the pipe, and said openings in said frame and said spray means being in alignment so that the pipe may be moved therethrough;

(d) a substantially flat plate having a U-shaped lateral opening larger than the diameter of the pipe on its side adjacent to the pipe and slidably mounted on said frame below said spray means for reciprocating movement in a plane substantially normall to the direction of alignment of said openings in said frame 5 6 and said spray means from a juxtaposition away from References Cited said pipe to an infraposition partially surrounding UNITED STATES PATENTS said pipe, said lateral opening extending into said plate a distance greater than the diameter of the pipe; 1,914,472 6/1933 Wlckersham 277 4 said pipe, when said plate is in said infraposition be- 5 215541276 5/ 1951 Stone 17584 X ing within said U-shaped lateral opening and sub- 3,378,088 4/1968 Grgant et a1 stantially encompassed by said plate, and a pipe wiper 1,835,891 12/1931 Mlldren 2774 X mounted on the pipe below said plate restrained 2809 ,012 10/1957 Stevens 175-84 X thereby from upward movement through said open- ROBERTW MICHELL Primary Examiner ings; 10

(e) and means for reciprocating said plate from said US juxtaposition to said infraposition and vice versa. 16682; 17584 

